Bovine circumvallate papilla is employed as our study system. Papillae on the mounted area of the bovine contain no taste buds, and are therefore used for control studies. Plasma membranes of the circumvallate papillae have been isolated in pure forms as indicated by marker enzyme studies and by electron microscopy. Other subcellular membranes were also isolated for comparative studies. The circumvallate plasma membranes solubilized in sodium dodecyl sulfate showed a total of 21 electrophoretic peaks on polyacrylamide gel. Most of them are PAS-positive. At least two of the glycoprotein bands are present only in the circumvallate. The major neutral lipids found in the membranes are triglycerides and cholesterol, and the major phospholipids are spingomyelin and phosphotidyl cholin. Preliminary experiments with C14-labeled fructose showed that plasma membranes exhibited the highest specific binding activity to fructose. Further studies are currently under investigation.